Case Study: Suez Environmental | Canada
Engineering Challenge
The industrial chemical plant needs a drive unit that can withstand a harsh corrosive chemical environment. The plant is located near the ocean, and thus the drive materials must be suitable for these environmental factors as well. The application of the paint will increase the life of the product. Therefore, the customer specification requires a three coat matrix system to be resistant to a high corrosive environment due to the installation site location and site activities.
Solution
Because of the high level of quality of the DBS product line and the capability of providing various levels of customization matching strict technical specifications, the customer chose to purchase the drives from DBS. Suez has worked with DBS for over 30 years, designing custom products compliant with a large spectrum of specifications. Two SX-AE and one SX-B were requested from DBS Manufacturing for this job. The design of the drives was standard with a custom paint job added due to the high corrosive environment. The customer provided the paint manufacturer along with a selection of products to pick from. In order to maximize performance, guarantee the level of quality required, and comply with the strict application processes, DBS worked with the paint manufacturer and its distributors, to correctly select equipment and materials for the job.
Upon selection of the paint for the three coats, a more extensive analysis was conducted to ensure proper application. Preliminary tests were conducted on sample materials to confirm feasibility and an open channel of communication was kept with the paint manufacturer to confirm data and methods. For QC & QA purposes, “companion plates” were used throughout the surface preparation and paint application steps. Between the application of each coat, a series of tests of different nature [based on the coat] were conducted, per ASTM standards, to ensure compliance with specifications. Upon overall completion, two additional tests were conducted to ensure overall adhesion strength of the coating and compliance with Dry Film Thickness (DFT) requirements. A large number of reports were provided on the basis of the tests to confirm compliance to technical specifications.
DBS has provided custom paint jobs before. Some customers may require the products to be painted specific colors. However, in this project, the type of paint that was used along with the requirement to comply with strict technical specifications made it a unique and first time project.